Bicycle-gearing.



N0. 634,252. Patented Oct. 3, |899.

V. WEBER.

BICYCLE GEARING.

[Application med oct. 17, 189s., fio Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HWY.

No. 634,252. Patented Oct. 3, |899.

V. WEBER.

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(Application filed Oct. 17, 1898.`

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ATENT VALENTIN VEBER, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

BICYCLE-GEARING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,252, dated October3, 1899.

Application filed October 17, 1898. Serial No. 693,705. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, VALENTIN WEBER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, haveinvented c ertain new and useful Improvements in Bicycle-Gearing; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, which will enable othersskilled in thevartto which it appertains to make'and use the same.

This invention relates to bicycle-gearing.

The object of the invention is to furnish a simple gear-changer forbicycles easy of manipulation and positive in its action.

To this end I provide the construction shown in the drawings forming apart of this application, and in which- Figure l is a longitudinalsection of the shaft and the various necessary parts. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of a portion of the shaft, showing various portions ofthe gearchanging mechanism thereon, but separated to better showconstruction. Fig. 3 is also a perspective view of a section of theshaft, showing other parts,.which in practice engage with the portionsshown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a face View of a swinging gear-carrier,showing the two extreme positions thereof. Fig. 5 is a perspective viewof a cam-plate used in changing the speed-gear. Fig. 6 is a face View ofthe same, showing a cam upon its surface, together with anoperating-rod. Fig. 7 is a View of a portion of abicycle, showing anoperating-rod connected with the plate described in Fig. 6, which runsup to a point near the saddle and there controlled bya cam arrangement.Fig. S is a View of the rear of the bicycle-frame, showing the camarrangement attached thereto. Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the camarrangement shown in Fig. 8.

In the figures, A is the shaft of the rear wheel, which is held in theusual manner between the rear bifurcated ends of the frame B.

C is the hub, having bearings on the shaft by means of the cones F and I(on the shaft) and cups G and H, (in the hub,) as in usual practice. Thecup IAI-is fitted snugly within the hub, and its flanged end h is letinto the wall of that portion, so as to be flush therewith. Said cup isgrooved longitudinally on its periphery, as shown at h', Fig. 2, to formtunnels between it and the hub, said tunnels being occupied byprojections or Afingers .I

upon a sliding clutch J. This clutch surrounds the shaft and at certaintimes is controlled by a spring K, surrounding the shaft and bearingagainst the clutch and the cup G. The cone l is adjustable on the shaftby screw-threads or other good means. An aperture I is made in theflange of said cone, the use of which will be hereinafter explained.

A drum L carries the sprocket-wheel M and a.

pinion N, the latter adapted to engage at times an internally-toothedgear-wheel N within the enlargement of the hub and lies in the sameplane as said gear. A ball-race O is turned in the interior of the saidpinion, and two cones P and P,having beveled ends, which together formalso aball-race, are inserted in the sleeve L and are rigidly connectedtogether by screws Q or their equivalents. These cones are provided withtwo pins R and R', the latter entering the aperture I in the cone I,before described. The former pin is in line with the pin R' and hassimilar pivotal connection ,with a fixed sleeve S, screwed onto theshaft and held in the frame B. Each of the cones j ust referred to isprovided with a slot slightly wider than the diameter of the shaft A andextends from the immediate center of the cones to a point near the edgethereof, forming in this manner a slot concentric with the pins orpivots R and R', or, more correctly, the slots are arcs of a circlewhose center lies in the pins described. It will be seen by this thatany movement of the cones 'about the pins or pivots will move the pinionN also about the same pivotal point. The pins may be placed in the coneI and sleeve S and the holes in the cones P P and acquire the sameresults. A cam-plate T (shown in Figs. and 6) is slipped upon the sleeveS and is given an oscillating movement thereon by an operating-rod to bedescribed. A cani T is secured to or forms part of the plate T and isconcentric with its bore. The iange of the plate T is notched at U andengages a lug V on the cone P, which is shown opposite the pin R. Uponthe shaft, outside the frame B, is a yoke W, having the ears W. Betweenis pivoted a dog X, whose point a projects within a longitudinal slot bin the IOO shaft, near the end thereof, as shown, while the head c onsaid dog approaches the cam T and is operated thereby. The shaft isprovided with a longitudinal bore (l, wherein is a pin e, which extendsthrough to the clutch J' and slightly beyond it, and a transverse slotf, similar to the slot I), is cut in the shaft at about its middlelength, and a cross-head g is held therein bypins c c. As before stated,the yoke lV, carrying the dog X, is located outside the fork of theframe and is held against rotary movement by the binding of the lock-nutusually employed and by a shoulder projecting' within the fork, but notshown. The cross-head is designed to bear against and operate on saidclutch J' by a pressure of the pin E, due to the dog X, givinglongitudinal movement to the clutch when disengaging the elementscomposing the driving mechanism for the high gear.

An operating-rod t is pivoted to the camplate T and extends upwardly toa point beneath the saddle, as shown in Figs. '7 and S. The latterfigure shows the means for operating the rod, and Fig. shows the sameenlarged to better show construction.

Upon one of the reaches of the frame is secured a tubej, within which isa spiral spring 7U' and the end of the rod 'L'. A cam Z, having notchesm, n, and o, is pivoted on the rod t' in suitable manner, and as the camis raised by means of its handle the rodft'is also raised and a lug ponthe said tube engages the notches referred to. This action results byreason of distance between each succeeding notch and the pivotal pointof the cam increasing as the cam is raised. Vhen lowered, the spring7tbrings the rod to its lower position, as at first.

Having thus fully described the invention and plainly shown its severalparts in the drawings, the operation will now be fully understood.

In the position shown in Fig. l the mechanism used for high gear is inuse. To show that such is the case, it will be noted that thesprocket-wheel and the druniL are as an integral'part and that thefingers J of the clutch are in engagement with said drum, therebyforming a'rigid connection between the said sprocket-wheel.and the hub Cby the channels in the cup ll. Upon raising the cam Z the cam T of theplate T, which has hitherto been free of the head c of the dog X, nowengages that portion, and by reason of the pivotal connection of the dogX with the yoke XV the point a is moved within the slot h in a directionto give the pin c longitudinal movement to shift the cross-head g, aswell as the clutch J, upon the shaft, thereby withdrawing the fingers Jfrom the drum L and releasing that portion and its sprocket-wheel fromthe wheel-hub. In this position the hub revolves about its shaft and thesprocket remains free, and movement imparted to the pedals in no wayaffects the rear wheel, and

therefore the device is in position for coastin g,and the cam Z,whichoperates the rod i, lies at this time at middle position n, as in Fig.il. Bicycles may be built with this coasting feature and without thelow-gear elements, if, desired. By raising the cam l still farther, soas to bring the notch m into engagement with the lug on the rod, thecam-plate T is revolved still farther upon the sleeve S, thereby raisingthe lug V on the cone P by the notch U, swinging said cone and the coneP upon the pivots R and R', asshown in Fig. 4, thus carrying the pinionil into mesh with the internal gear, where it remains (at low gear)until released by the opposite movement of the operating-cam inreturning to the position started from. The notchUis of such width thatWhile the cam-plate is moving about the sleeve S to disengage thohighgear elements those portions are made entirely free before the lugV. begins to rise to engage the low-gear portions.

The lowering of the cam lpermits all parts within the hub to movefreely, and the spring bearing upon the clutch J throws that portioninto engagement with the high-speed driving parts and pushes the pin eagainst the dog a, which is now free to move by reason of the withdrawalof the cam T from beneath its head c. The rate of speed at which thebicycle will move with a given number of revolutions of the pedals willdepend upon the difference in the sizes of the sprocketwheels when thesprocket M and the hub C are locked together, as for the high speed; butwhen the pinion N and the internal gear are in mesh the speed will begreatly reduced, the pedals moving at the same rate as before, becauseof the smaller size of the pinion as compared with the internal gear.The new features lie in providing the cones P and P with the pivotsdescribed, mounting the gear and sprocket upon these cones, andproviding the cones with slots arranged in the arc of a circle, usingthe pivots as the centerof that circle to accomplish the meshing of thegears, and the use of the dogX in conjunction with the cam T on theplate T, and the rod or pin e within the bore ot' the shaft and operatedby the dog to disengage the parts in the manner described, all of whichI consider new.

It is obvious that Various changes in the construction of this devicemaybe made withont departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim- 1. In bicycle-gearing, the combination with a shaft held in thebicycle-frame, of the wheelhub having bearings on the shaft, an internalgear-wheel in the hub, a clutch surrounding the shaft, projections orfingers thereon, a spring for oper-ating the clutch, openings throughthe hub portions for the passage of the fingers, a drum within theinternal gear, channels therein for engaging the fingers of the clutch,a pinion on the druin for engag- IOO ing the internal gear,bearing-cones for supporting thefdrum, pivots on the cones forpermitting lateral movement thereof and slots in the cones in the regionof the shaft for permitting such lateral movement all for the purposesdescribed.

2. In bicycle-gearing, the combination with a shaftheld in thebicycle-frame, ofthe wheel-,

hub having bearings on the shaft, an internal gear-wheel in the hub, aclutch surrounding the shaft, projections or fingers thereon, a springfor operating the clutch, openings through the hub portions for thepassage of the fingers, a drum within the internal gear, channelstherein for engaging the iingers of the clutch, a pinion on the drum forengaging the internal gear, bearing-cones for supporting the drum,pivots on the cones for permitting lateral movement thereof and slots inthe cones in the region of the shaft for permitting such lateralmovement, a carnplate for operating the cones, means for moving saidplate, a dog operated bythe plate, a longitudinal bore in the shaft, apin lying in said bore and operated by the dog for the purposes setforth and described.

3. In bicycle-gearing, the frame, a shaft held therein, a hubsurrounding t-he shaft, bearings between the hub and shaft, a clutchupon the shaft within the hub, openings from the interior of the hub tothe exterior thereof and occupied by the clutch portions, a gearwheelwithin the hub and secured thereto, a pinion within the said gear-wheel,a sprocketwheel having rigid connection with the pinion, bearing-conesfor supporting the said sprocket and pinion, locking means between thepinion and the clutch, pivotal supports for the cones and slots thereinfor swinging them laterally, an operating portion for moving the conesin theirrpivots, a longitudinal bore in the shaft, a pin or rodoccupying said bore and means between the said operating portion andsaidrod for giving longitudinal movement to the clutch all for thepurposes set forth and described.

4. In bicycle-gearing a shaft, a hub having bearin gs thereon, aninternally-toothed gearwheel within the hub, a pinion within thegear-wheel, a sprocket operating with the pinion, a clutch on the shaft,depressions in the pinion for engaging the clutch, bearings forsupporting the pinion and sprocket-wheel, pivotal supports for thebearings, said pivots being longitudinally arranged whereby the bearingsmay be given lateral movement thereon for the purposes described, a camarranged to oscillate about the shaft for swinging the bearings, a dogadapted to be operated by the caln, a bore in the shaft, a pin in thebore for operating the clutch, said pin being operated by the dog andmeans for giving the cam its oscillatory movement as described.

5. In a speed-changing gear for bicycles, a

shaft, a hub having bearings thereon, bearing-cones surrounding theshaft and adapted to swing eccentrically thereto, pivots on the cones,such pivots permitting the movements described', a sprocket-wheel andpinion having bearings on the cones, a spring-pressed clutch sliding onthe shaft adapted to engage the sprocket and pinion, a bore for theshaft, a pin lyin gin said bore for shifting the clutch, a dog forengaging the pin, an oscillating cam for operating the dog and pin, andmeans for giving the cam its oscillatory movement for the purposes setforth and described.

6. For a speed-changing gear for bicycles, a' shaft, a wheel-hub havingbearings thereon, an internal gear for the hub and sprocket, a pinionadapted to engage the internal gear, means for engaging and disengagingsaid gear and pinion, in combination with a slidable clutch on the`shaft consisting of a plate J having Jlingers .I grooves 7L' in the hubportion receiving the lingers said fingers adapted to engage the pinionand sprocket,

a spring for engaging the clutch with the hub, a slot in the shaft, across-head in the slot and a pin in such shaft for moving the cross-headfor disengaging the said clutch and -hub as set forth.

7. In a speed-changing device for bicycles,

the combination with the shaft, hub, inter- -nal gear, pinion andsprocket arranged as set forth, of bearing-cones for supporting thelatter, pivots on the extremities of the cones parallel with the shaft,the same being situated between the shaft and the periphery of the saidcones, fixed supports on the shaft for supporting the pivots, slots inthe cones concentric with the pivots, a plate T swinging on one of thesaid fixed supports, a lug on one of the cones operated by the saidplate for swinging the cones on the pivots whereby the pinion carriedthereon is moved to or from the said internal gear for the purposes setforth.

8. In a speed-changing gear for bicycles, a shaft, iixed cones thereon,a hub and sprocket having bearings on said cones, an internal gear forthe hub, cones P P surrounding the shaft but free of it, a pivot in oneof the cones eccentric to the shaft having support in one IOO IIO

of the lixed cones described, a pivot on the opposite cone in line withthe first, a fixed support on the shaft for carrying such pivot, a slotin the cones for the passage of the shaft therethrough, the same beingconcentric with the said pivots for permitting movement of the conesthereon eccentric to the shaft, in one plane, a cam for moving the coneson the pivots, means within reach of the rider for shifting the cam, asprocket-wheel and pinion iixed together and having bearing on the saidcones P P', the pinion adapted to engage the internal gear due to theeccentric movement described, the movement of the sprocket and pinionbeing concentric with the crankshaft of the bicycle whereby the distancebetween the driving and driven sprockets is not changed, it shiftnblespring-actuated clutch on the shaft, lingers thereon for engaging thesaid pinion and sprocket, grooves or channels in the hnb portion forreceiving the snid lingers, :L longitudinal bore for the shaft, n pinlying therein for operating the clutch in one direction :rnd n dogengaging and moving the pin and operated by the said 1o cam allsubstantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VALENTIN WEBER.

lVitnesses:

C. JOHNSON, CHARLES J. WOLFF..

